It is 92 degrees with high humidity, but there is a nice steady breeze out of the southwest and big clouds that, mercifully, cast periodic shade across the big sunflower field. Grandpa is on his swivel seat with a wide brimmed straw hat on his head that allows the breeze to pass through and evaporate the sweat, and with a comfortable headband that keeps most of it out of his eyes. This is the beginning of his 58th dove season. He began shooting with his Grandaddy when he was 8, he once told me. On that first shoot he had carried a .410 double and ................. (smile) he is carrying a .410 double today. According to what his friends have told me, he has used just about every gauge and type of shotgun there is on doves, and now ............. he is back where he started. A limit is a limit he says, and if a man has more fun taking a limit with what most men call a kid's gun, well he darn well should do so.
Grandpa wears sunglasses everyday, aviators. He's been a farmer his whole life, and knows the value of protecting the eyes during long days in the bright sun. But, he doesn't wear them shooting doves. When I asked him why he said "Two reasons, son. One, the reflection of the sun off a pair of shades will turn a dove half a mile away. And two, I've never found a pair that didn't kind of fade the gray of a dove into the blue/gray of a late afternoon sky". So, he squints.
My brother and I are sitting out in front of him aways, maybe 60 yards, and about that same distance from each other. We know he sits behind us because he still wants to watch us closely, and that's alright. He taught us both to be very careful on a dove field, and we know that we will get a harsh yelling at if we shoot at too low a bird. But, he says the reason is because he just enjoys watching us shoot.
To be continued....................
https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/ge...mp;font=cursive SRH
